Neotropical Entomology ISSN: 1519-566X journal homepage: www.scielo.br/ne ECOLOGY, BEHAVIOR AND BIONOMICS The Endangered Butterfly Charonias theano (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): Current Status, Threats and its Rediscovery in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil AVL Freitas1, LA Kaminski1, CA Iserhard1, EP Barbosa1, OJ Marini Filho2 1 Depto de Biologia Animal & Museu de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Univ Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brasil 2Centro de Pesquisa e Conservação do Cerrado e Caatinga – CECAT, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Brasília, DF, Brasil Keywords Abstract Aporiina, Atlantic Forest, endangered species, Pierini, Serra do Japi The pierid Charonias theano Correspondence (Boisduval), an endangered butterfly André V L Freitas, Depto de Biologia Animal & species, has been rarely observed in nature, and has not been recorded Museu de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Univ in the state of CSão. theano Paulo in the last 50 years despite numerous efforts Estadual de Campinas, CP6109, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brasil;
[email protected] to locate extant colonies. Based on museum specimens and personal information, was known from 26 sites in southeastern Edited by Kleber Del Claro – UFU and southern Brazil. Recently, an apparently viable population was recorded in a new locality, at Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo, with Received 26 May 2011 and accepted 03 severalsince this individuals site represents observed one of during the few two large weeks forested in April, protected 2011. areas The August 2011 existence of this population at Serra do Japi is an important finding, São Paulo, but within its entire historical distribution. where the species could potentially persist not only in the state of Introduction In the last Brazilian red list of endangered fauna (Machado intensively sampled from 1987 to 1991, resulting in a list et al of 652 species (Brown 1992).